Methods and apparatus of identification of streaming activity and source for cached media on streaming devices

ABSTRACT

Methods, apparatus, systems and articles of manufacture are disclosed for identification of streaming activity and source for cached media on streaming devices. An example system stores, in a content identification information library, first content identification information of a first media presentation, wherein the first media presentation is a streamed media presentation; inspects a network connection of a media streaming device for network activity associated with a second media presentation; determine, in response to an absence of the network activity, the second media presentation is a cached media presentation; infers a streaming source of the second media presentation by matching second content identification information of the second media presentation with the first content identification information of the first media presentation; and generates a second media credit for the second media presentation that includes an inferred streaming source identifier.

RELATED APPLICATION

This patent arises from a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.No. 17/850,841, filed on Jun. 27, 2022, and which issued as U.S. Pat.No. 11,778,243 on Oct. 3, 2023, and which is a continuation of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 17/360,763, filed on Jun. 28, 2021, andwhich issued as U.S. Pat. No. 11,375,247 on Jun. 28, 2022, and which isa continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/853,690, filed onApr. 20, 2020, and which issued as U.S. Pat. No. 11,051,052 on Jun. 29,2021, and which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/678,093, filed on Oct. 23, 2015, and which issued as U.S. Pat. No.10,631,018 on Apr. 21, 2020. U.S. patent application Ser. Nos.17/850,841; 17/360,763; 16/853,690; and 15/678,093 are herebyincorporated by reference in their entireties. Priority to U.S. patentapplication Ser. Nos. 17/850,841; 17/360,763; 16/853,690; and 15/678,093are claimed.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

This disclosure relates generally to media metering and, moreparticularly, to methods and apparatus of identification of streamingactivity and streaming source for cached media on streaming devices.

BACKGROUND

Media producers, media providers, advertisers, product manufacturesrepresented in advertisements, and many other entities utilizeinformation about the presentation of media. Such information is oftencollected through the use of panels comprised of persons (e.g.,panelists) who have agreed to have their exposure to media monitored.For example, audio of media may be transmitted with identifyinginformation (e.g., embedded watermarks or codes) that identifies themedia. Panelists may be supplied with meters (e.g., portable meterscarried and/or worn by the panelists) that collect the audio and extractthe identifying information. The information may be transmitted to acollection facility where the results from multiple panelists arecombined to generate reports comprising information about mediapresentation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example environment in which a systemfor identifying streaming activity and streaming source for cached mediaon media devices constructed with the teachings of this disclosureoperates.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an example implementation of the contentcrediting facility of FIG. 1 .

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the processing of data for one exampleimplementation of the media crediting analyzer of FIG. 2 .

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the processing of data for an alternateexample implementation of the media crediting analyzer of FIG. 2 .

FIGS. 5A and 5B are a flowchart representative of examplemachine-readable instructions that may be executed to implement theexample system of FIG. 1 .

FIG. 6 is a flowchart representative of example machine-readableinstructions that may be executed to implement the example contentcrediting facility of FIG. 2 for the process of FIG. 3 .

FIG. 7 is a flowchart representative of example machine-readableinstructions that may be executed to implement the example contentcrediting facility of FIG. 2 for the process of FIG. 4 .

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of an example processor platform capable ofexecuting the example instructions of FIGS. 5, 6 , and/or 7 to implementthe example system of FIG. 1 .

The figures are not to scale. Wherever possible, the same referencenumbers will be used throughout the drawing(s) and accompanying writtendescription to refer to the same or like parts.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In recent years, media devices have been provided with Internetconnectivity and the ability to retrieve media from the Internet. Assuch, media exposure has shifted away from conventional methods ofpresentation, such as broadcast television, towards presentation viaconsumer devices accessing media streaming via the Internet. Mediadevices capable of accessing media streaming via the Internet is furtherdefined herein as a “media streaming devices”.

Media providers and/or other entities such as, for example, advertisingcompanies, broadcast networks, etc. are often interested in the viewing,listening, and/or media behavior of audience members and/or the publicin general. The streaming media usage and/or exposure habits ofmonitored audience members, as well as demographic data about theaudience members, are collected and used to statistically determine thesize and demographics of an audience of interest. Often times whenmeasuring the streaming usage and/or exposure habits of monitoredaudience members, substantial network activity (measured as bandwidthusage) is used to determine whether media is being streamed. As usedherein, “substantial network activity” is defined as a volume of networkactivity equal to or greater than the volume of network activityrequired to support the streaming of a media presentation.

However, on newer models of media streaming devices, the option to cachea streamed media presentation and store it for later presentation hasbecome common. As used herein, “cache” and/or “cached” are defined tomean a temporary storage space or memory that allows for rapidretrieval. In some examples as data caching relates to mediapresentations, video and audio data can be cached on a media streamingdevice as the media presentation is streamed. During a repeatpresentation of the media, the media presentation will be accessed viathe stored video and audio data, as opposed to streamed from theInternet. In such examples, because the program has been cached, nobandwidth is used for the media presentation and, in some such examples,network activity will not be detected. With current protocols formeasuring and crediting streaming media, streaming media that is cachedon a media streaming device will not be properly credited.

Turning to the figures, a block diagram of an example system 100 fordistributing media and, in some examples, capable of identifyingstreaming content and streaming source on caching capable devicesincludes media providers 102, 104, and 106. The media providers 102,104, and 106, in some examples, include media 108, 110, and 112, andcontent identification information generators 114, 116, and 118. Theexample system 100 further includes a household 120 which can, in someexamples, include a network interface 122, a media device 124 which, insome examples, includes a cached content storer 126. The examplehousehold 120 can further include a media identifier meter 128, and anetwork activity meter 130. Further, the example system 100 can includea network 132, and a content crediting facility 134 which can, in someexamples, includes a metering database 136, a media crediting analyzer138, and a media crediting database 140.

The example media provider(s) 102, 104, and/or 106 of the illustratedexample of FIG. 1 correspond(s) to any one or more media provider(s)(e.g., Netflix®, YouTube®, Hulu®, Amazon Video®, Pandora®) capable ofproviding media for presentation. The media provided by the mediaprovider(s) 102, 104, and/or 106 can be any type(s) of media, such asaudio, video, multimedia, etc. Additionally, the media can correspond tolive media, streaming media, broadcast media, stored media, on-demandcontent, etc.

The example media 108, 110, and/or 112 of the illustrated example ofFIG. 1 correspond(s) to any type(s) of media such as audio, video,multimedia, etc. In some such examples, the media 108, 110, and/or 112can be at least one of an audio media and video media of a mediapresentation as distributed by the media provider(s) 102, 104, and/or106.

The example content identification information generator(s) 114, 116,and/or 118 of the illustrated example of FIG. 1 correspond(s) to adevice capable of at least one of generating content identificationinformation (e.g., media program, media episode, media ID, mediatimestamp, etc.) and generating an identifier for one or more of themedia 108, 110, and/or 112 in the form of watermarks, embedded codes,signatures, fingerprints, metadata, etc.

In some examples, the example content identification informationgenerator(s) 114, 116, and/or 118 will embed at least one of audio orvideo watermarks in at least one of the media 108, 110, and/or 112. Asused herein, the terms “code” or “watermark” are used interchangeablyand are defined to mean any identification information (e.g., anidentifier) that may be inserted or embedded in the audio or video ofmedia (e.g., a program or advertisement) for the purpose of identifyingthe media or for another purpose such as tuning (e.g., a packetidentifying header). To identify watermarked media, the watermark(s) areextracted and used to access a table of reference watermarks that aremapped to content identification information.

Additionally or alternatively, the example content identificationinformation generator(s) 114, 116, and/or 118 will generate anidentifier in the form of audio signatures. As used herein, the term“fingerprint” and “signature” are used interchangeably and are definedherein to mean a proxy for identifying media that is generated from oneor more inherent characteristics of the media. Signature-based mediamonitoring generally involves matching a monitored signature and areference signature. When a match is found, the monitored media can beidentified as corresponding to the particular reference mediarepresented by the reference signature that matched the monitoredsignature and content identification information can be determined.

Additionally or alternatively, any manner of generating an identifierfor the one or more media 108, 110, and/or 112 that can be mapped tocontent identification information for the one or more media 108, 110,and/or 112 can be utilized by the example content identificationinformation generator(s) 114, 116, and/or 118.

The example household 120 of the illustrated example of FIG. 1 is ahousehold in which at least one of a streamed media presentation or acached presentation of a streamed media presentation is viewed. In somesuch examples, the media presentation viewed is the at least one ofmedia 108, 110, and/or 112. Additionally, the example household 120 canfurther include the network interface 122, the media device 124 whichcan, in some examples, include the cached content storer 126, the mediaidentifier meter 128, and the network activity meter 130.

The example network interface 122 of the illustrated example of FIG. 1is the Internet. However, the example network interface 122 may beimplemented using any suitable wired and/or wireless network(s)including, for example, one or more data buses, one or more Local AreaNetworks (LANs), one or more wireless LANs, one or more cellularnetworks, one or more private networks, one or more public networks,etc. The example network interface 122 enables one or more of theexample media provider(s) 102, 104, and/or 106 to be in communicationwith the example media device 124 and the network activity meter 130. Asused herein, the phrase “in communication,” including variances thereof,encompasses direct communication and/or indirect communication throughone or more intermediary components and does not require direct physical(e.g., wired) communication and/or constant communication, but ratherincludes selective communication at periodic or aperiodic intervals, aswell as one-time events.

The example media device 124 of the illustrated example of FIG. 1 is adevice that retrieves one or more media 108, 110, and/or 112 from one ormore of the media provider(s) 102, 104, and/or 106 for presentation. Insome examples, the media device 124 retrieves a streamed mediapresentation via the Internet. In some examples, the media device 124 iscapable of directly presenting media (e.g., via a display) while, inother examples, the media device 124 presents the media on separatemedia presentation equipment (e.g., speakers, a display, etc.). Thus, asused herein “media devices” may or may not be able to present mediawithout assistance from a second device. Media devices are typicallyconsumer electronics. For example, the media device 124 can be apersonal computer such as a laptop computer, and thus, is capable ofdirectly presenting media (e.g., via an integrated and/or connecteddisplay and speakers). While in the above, a personal computer is shown,any other type(s) and/or number(s) of media device(s) capable ofstreaming media may additionally or alternatively be used. For example,Internet-enabled mobile handsets (e.g., a smartphone, an iPod®, etc.),video game consoles (e.g., Xbox®, PlayStation® 4, etc.), tabletcomputers (e.g., an iPad®, a Motorola™ Xoom™, etc.), digital mediaplayers (e.g., a Roku® media player, a Slingbox®, a Tivo®, etc.), smarttelevisions, desktop computers, laptop computers, servers, etc. mayadditionally or alternatively be used.

The example cached content storer 126 of the illustrated example of FIG.1 corresponds to a device capable of caching one or more mediapresentations locally at the media device 124. The one or more mediapresentations cached by the example cached content storer 126 canfurther be presented by the media device 124 for the duration that themedia presentation is stored in the cached content storer 126. In somesuch examples, the cached content storer 126 can be implemented by oneor more volatile memories such as Synchronous Dynamic Random AccessMemory (SDRAM), Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), RAMBUS, DynamicRandom Access Memory (RDRAM) and/or any other type of random accessmemory device. Additionally or alternatively, the cached content storer126 can be implemented by one or more non-volatile memories such asflash memory and/or any other desired type of memory device.

The example media identifier meter 128 of the illustrated example ofFIG. 1 corresponds to any device capable of at least one of detectingand decoding an identifier in one or more of the media 108, 110, and/or112 as generated by the one or more content identification informationgenerator(s) 114, 116, and/or 118.

In some such examples, the example media identifier meter 128 can onlydetect the presence of an identifier, wherein the identifier informationin such examples is further to be decoded via a separate entity.Additionally or alternatively, the example media identifier meter 128can both detect and decode an identifier.

The example media identifier meter 128 can further be implemented by auser (i.e., a panelist) worn device. In such examples, the mediaidentifier meter 128 determines viewing data of the user, regardless ofmedia device. Additionally or alternatively, the example mediaidentifier meter 128 can be implemented by a device embedded orotherwise included in the example media device 124. In such examples,the media identifier meter 128 determines media presented at the mediadevice 124.

The example network activity meter 130 of the illustrated example ofFIG. 1 corresponds to a device capable of detecting network activity atthe household 120 distributed by the network interface 122. In someexamples, the network activity at the household 120 will be caused bystreaming media to the media device 124 from the network interface 122.In such examples, the network activity meter 130 can detect a streamingsource (e.g., Netflix®, Hulu®, Sling TV®, MLB.tv, etc.) of the networkactivity as presented by the media device 124. As used herein, thesource of the network activity detected by the network activity meter130 is further referred to as a “streaming source”. Additionally, asused herein, “meter data” or “metering data” further refers to at leastone of a media identifier, network activity information, and streamingsource information as acquired by at least one of the media identifiermeter 128 and the network activity meter 130.

The example network 132 of the illustrated example of FIG. 1 is theInternet. However, the example network 132 may be implemented using anysuitable wired and/or wireless network(s) including, for example, one ormore data buses, one or more Local Area Networks (LANs), one or morewireless LANs, one or more cellular networks, one or more privatenetworks, one or more public networks, etc. Additionally oralternatively, the network interface 122, in some examples, is furthercommunicatively coupled to the network 132. The example network 132enables one or more of the media identifier meter 128 and the networkactivity meter 130 to be in communication with the content creditingfacility 134.

The example content crediting facility 134 of the illustrated example ofFIG. 1 corresponds to a system that can, utilizing an input includingmeter data, generate a media credit for at least one of a streamed orcached media presentation. Further, the content crediting facility 134can, in some such examples, include a metering database 136, a mediacrediting analyzer 138, and a media crediting database 140.

The example metering database 136 of the illustrated example of FIG. 1corresponds to a database that can, in some such examples, store meterdata from at least one of the media identifier meter 128 and networkactivity meter 130.

The example metering database 136 can be implemented by a volatilememory (e.g., a Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory (SDRAM), aDynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), RAMBUS Dynamic Random Access Memory(RDAM), etc.) and/or a non-volatile memory (e.g., flash memory). Theexample metering database 136 can additionally or alternatively beimplemented by one or more mass storage devices such as hard diskdrive(s), compact disk drive(s), digital versatile disk drive(s),solid-state drives(s), etc. While in the illustration the examplemetering database 136 is illustrated as a single database, the examplemetering database 136 can be implemented by any number and/or type(s) ofdatabases.

The example media crediting analyzer 138 of the illustrated example ofFIG. 1 , further detailed below, corresponds to a device capable of, inresponse to receiving meter data from the example metering database 136,generating a media credit for a media presentation as distributed by theone or more media provider(s) 102, 104, and/or 106. In some suchexamples, the media presentation can be cached by the cached contentstorer 126 at the media device 124. Additionally or alternatively, themedia presentation can be streamed at the media device 124. For each ofstreaming media presentations and cached media presentations, theexample media crediting analyzer 138 is capable of generating a propermedia credit for the media presentation.

The example media crediting database 140 of the illustrated example ofFIG. 1 corresponds to a database which can, in some such examples, storeone or more media credits generated by the media crediting analyzer 138.As used herein, a “media credit” can include at least one of a mediadevice identifier, a streaming source identifier, one or more contentidentifiers, and at least one of a presentation start time, end time,and period. Additionally or alternatively, one or more media credits asstored in the media crediting database 140 can further be at least oneof retrieved and searched by the media crediting analyzer 138.

The example media crediting database 140 can be implemented by avolatile memory (e.g., a Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory(SDRAM), a Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), RAMBUS Dynamic RandomAccess Memory (RDAM), etc.) and/or a non-volatile memory (e.g., flashmemory). The example media crediting database 140 can additionally oralternatively be implemented by one or more mass storage devices such ashard disk drive(s), compact disk drive(s), digital versatile diskdrive(s), solid-state drives(s), etc. While in the illustration theexample media crediting database 140 is illustrated as a singledatabase, the example media crediting database 140 can be implemented byany number and/or type(s) of databases.

In operation, the block diagram of example system 100 distributes mediafrom one or more media provider(s) 102, 104, and/or 106 in the form ofmedia 108, 110, and/or 112. Further, content identification informationgenerator(s) 114, 116, and/or 118 generate content identificationinformation and media identifiers for at least one of the media 108,110, and/or 112 which are further received at the household 120 by thenetwork interface 122. The media device 124 receives the one or moremedia 108, 110, and/or 112 and can store the one or more media 108, 110,and/or 112 in the cached content storer 126. At least one of the mediaidentifier meter 128 and the network activity meter 130 determinesmetering data for the presented media, and are further to transmit themetering data through the network 132 to the metering database 136,included or otherwise implemented in the content crediting facility 134.The metering data, as stored by the metering database 136, is analyzedby the media crediting analyzer 138. Upon generation of a media creditby the media crediting analyzer 138, the media credit is transmitted tothe media crediting database 140.

The example system 100 of FIG. 1 includes three media providers 102,104, and 106, three media 108, 110, and 112, three contentidentification information generators 114, 116, and 118, one household120, one network interface 122, one media device 124, one cached contentstorer 126, one media identifier meter 128, one network activity meter130, one network 132, one content crediting facility 134, one meteringdatabase 136, one media crediting analyzer 138, and one media creditingdatabase 140. However, identification of streaming activity for cachedcontent as disclosed herein can be used with any number(s) of mediaproviders 102, 104, and 106, media 108, 110, and 112, contentidentification information generators 114, 116, and 118, households 120,network interfaces 122, media devices 124, cached content storers 126,media identifier meters 128, network activity meters 130, networks 132,content crediting facilities 134, metering databases 136, mediacrediting analyzers 138, and media crediting databases 140. Further,although the media device 124, media identifier meter 128, and networkactivity meter 130 are illustrated as being separate elements in FIG. 1, at least one of the media identifier meter 128, and network activitymeter 130 can be implemented by or otherwise included in the mediadevice 124.

Additionally or alternatively, although the metering database 136, themedia crediting analyzer 138, and the media crediting database 140 areshown as being separate elements in FIG. 1 , at least one of themetering database 136, and the media crediting database 140 can beimplemented by or otherwise included in the media crediting analyzer138.

A block diagram further detailing the media crediting analyzer 138 ofFIG. 1 is illustrated in FIG. 2 . The example media crediting analyzer138 of FIG. 2 can, for at least one of recognized streaming media,unrecognized streaming media, recognized cached media, and unrecognizedcached media, create a media credit properly crediting all receivedmetering data for a presented media.

Looking to FIG. 2 , the illustrated media crediting analyzer 138includes an example database interface 202, an example metering datamanager 204 which can, in some examples, include an example mediaidentifier recognizer 206, an example network activity manager 208, andan example content determiner 210, an example content identificationinformation library 212, an example recognized cached content sourcedeterminer 214, an example unrecognized cached content source determiner216, and an example media credit manager 218. Additionally, as usedherein, at least one of the recognized cached content source determiner214 and the unrecognized cached content source determiner 216 may bereferred to as a “cached content source determiner.”

In the illustrated example of FIG. 2 , the database interface 202 can atleast one of transfer data to and receive data from the meteringdatabase 136. The database interface 202 can further at least one oftransfer data to and receive data from any component of the mediacrediting analyzer 138. In some such examples, the database interface202 can be implemented by any type of interface standards, such as anEthernet interface, a universal serial bus (USB), and/or a PeripheralComponent Interconnect (PCI) Express interface.

Additionally, the media crediting analyzer 138 of the illustratedexample of FIG. 2 includes the metering data manager 204. The meteringdata manager 204 analyzes metering data acquired by at least one of themedia identifier meter 128 and the network activity meter 130. Further,the metering data manager 204 can, in some such examples, furtherinclude the media identifier recognizer 206, the network activitymanager 208, and the content determiner 210.

The media identifier recognizer 206 of the illustrated example meteringdata manager 204 determines if a media identifier further included inmetering data of the presented media, as transmitted by the meteringdatabase 136, is at least one or recognized or unrecognized. In somesuch examples, the media identifier recognizer 206 determines if anaudio signature of the presented media is at least one or recognized orunrecognized. Additionally or alternatively, the media identifierrecognizer 206 determines if an embedded watermark of the presentedmedia is at least one or recognized or unrecognized. Additionally oralternatively, the media identifier recognizer 206 determines if anidentifier, included in the one or more of the media 108, 110, and/or112 in any form detectable by the media identifier meter 128, is atleast one or recognized or unrecognized.

Additionally, the media identifier recognizer 206 can further output aflag designating the recognition status of the media presentation. Insome such examples, in response to determining the media identifier ofthe media presentation is recognized, the media identifier recognizer206 can output a flag that the media is recognized. Additionally oralternatively, in response to determining the media identifier of themedia presentation as unrecognized, the media identifier recognizer 206can output a flag that the media is unrecognized. Additionally oralternatively, in response to not receiving any media identifiers of amedia presentation (i.e., the media identifier meter 128 did nottransmit any meter data), the media identifier recognizer 206 can outputa flag that no media is currently being presented by the media device124.

The network activity manager 208 of the illustrated example meteringdata manager 204 can determine whether network activity is detected atthe household 120 by the network activity meter 130 and further, whetherthe network activity is associated with a media presentation. Inresponse to determining that the network activity is associated with themedia presentation, the network activity manager 208 is further todetermine the media presentation is a streamed media presentation anddetermine a streaming source (e.g., Netflix®, Hulu®, Sling TV®, MLB.tv,etc.) of the media presentation as presented by the media device 124.

Additionally or alternatively, in response to the network activitymanager 208 determining that at no network activity is present or thatnetwork activity detected is not associated with a media presentation,the network activity manager is further to determine that the mediapresentation is a cached media presentation.

The content determiner 210 of the illustrated example metering datamanager 204 can determine content identification information of themedia presentation presented at the media device 124 based on meteringdata as stored in the metering database 136. In some such examples, inresponse to the presented media being indicated as recognized by anoutput flag from the media identifier recognizer 206, the contentidentification information can include at least one of a program andepisode of the media presentation (e.g., content information), anidentifier of the media device, such as the media device 124 in theillustrated example, and at least one of a presentation start time, endtime, and period. Additionally or alternatively, in response to thepresented media being indicated as unrecognized by an output flag fromthe media identifier recognizer 206, the content identificationinformation can include at least one of an unrecognized mediaidentifier, an identifier of the media device, such as the media device124 in the illustrated example, and at least one of a presentation starttime, end time, and period.

Additionally or alternatively, the content identification informationcan include a media ID (e.g., a number, a tag, a code specific to theprogram and/or episode presented, etc.) of the media presentation.Additionally or alternatively, the media identifier as determined by thecontent determiner 210 can be any data sequence by which the presentedmedia can be distinguished from alternative presented media.

Additionally, the content determiner 210 can further include a streamingsource identifier, previously determined by the network activity manager208, in the content identification information.

The content identification information library 212 of the illustratedexample media crediting analyzer 138 can store content identificationinformation, determined by the metering data manager 204, and furtherdetermined as unrecognized by the media identifier recognizer 206.Additionally or alternatively, the content identification informationlibrary 212 can store content identification information, determined bythe metering data manager 204, and further determined as recognized bythe media identifier recognizer 206.

Additionally or alternatively, for each of recognized contentidentification information and unrecognized content identificationinformation, content identification information stored in the streamedcontent identification information library can further include at leastone of a media identifier, a streaming media device identifier, and astreaming source identifier.

The example content identification information library 212 can beimplemented by a volatile memory (e.g., a Synchronous Dynamic RandomAccess Memory (SDRAM), a Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), RAMBUSDynamic Random Access Memory (RDAM), etc.) and/or a non-volatile memory(e.g., flash memory). The example content identification informationlibrary 212 can additionally or alternatively be implemented by one ormore mass storage devices such as hard disk drive(s), compact diskdrive(s), digital versatile disk drive(s), solid-state drives(s), etc.While in the illustration the example content identification informationlibrary 212 is illustrated as a single database, example contentidentification information library 212 can be implemented by any numberand/or type(s) of databases.

The recognized cached content source determiner 214 of the illustratedexample media crediting analyzer 138 can, in some examples, determine astreaming source (e.g., Netflix®, Hulu®, Sling TV®, MLB.tv, etc.) of acached media presentation previously determined as recognized by themedia identifier recognizer 206. Further, determining a streaming sourceof the recognized cached media presentation includes matching a mediacredit stored in the media crediting database 140, which can, in someexamples, include crediting information for at least one of mediadevice, streaming source, presentation period, and content information,with the media device and content information of the current mediapresentation.

In response to a match being found in the media crediting database 140,the recognized cached content source determiner 214 can infer thestreaming source of the current media presentation from the match.Additionally or alternatively, in response to a match not being found inthe media crediting database 140, the recognized cached content sourcedeterminer 214 can infer that the current media presentation is notcached from previously streamed media.

The unrecognized cached content source determiner 216 of the illustratedexample media crediting analyzer 138 can, in some such examples,determine a streaming source (e.g., Netflix®, Hulu®, Sling TV®, MLB.tv,etc.) of a cached media presentation previously determined asunrecognized by the media identifier recognizer 206. Further,determining a streaming source of the unrecognized cached mediapresentation includes matching each of a media device identifier and anunrecognized media identifier of the current media presentation witheach of a media device and unrecognized media identifier of previouslystreamed media as stored in the content identification informationlibrary 212.

In response to a match being found in the content identificationinformation library 212, the unrecognized cached content sourcedeterminer 216 can infer the streaming source of the current mediapresentation from the match. Additionally or alternatively, in responseto a match not being found in the content identification informationlibrary 212, the unrecognized cached content source determiner 216 caninfer that the current media presentation is not cached from previouslystreamed media.

The example media credit manager 218 of the illustrated example of FIG.2 prepares one or more media credit(s) indicative of the presentation ofmedia on media devices. In some such examples, the media credit manager218 can further distribute the one or more media credit(s) generated tothe media crediting database 140.

In some examples, in response to the media presentation being streamedand recognized, the media credit manager 218 generates a credit resultincluding at least one of a content identifier, a media deviceidentifier, a presentation period, and a streaming source identifier.Additionally or alternatively, in response to the media presentationbeing streamed and unrecognized, the media credit manager 218 generatesa credit result including at least one of a media device identifier, apresentation period, and a streaming source identifier.

Additionally or alternatively, in response to the media presentationbeing cached and recognized, the media credit manager 218 generates acredit result including at least one of a content identifier, a mediadevice identifier, a presentation period, and an inferred streamingsource identifier. Additionally or alternatively, in response to themedia presentation being neither of cached or streamed, and recognized,the media credit manager 218 generates a credit result including atleast one of a content identifier, and presentation period.

Additionally or alternatively, in response to the media presentationbeing cached and unrecognized, the media credit manager 218 generates acredit result including at least one of a media device identifier, apresentation period, and an inferred streaming source identifier.Additionally or alternatively, in response to the media presentationbeing neither of cached or streamed, and unrecognized, the media creditmanager 218 generates a credit including a presentation period.

In operation, the example media crediting analyzer 138 receives at leastone of analyzed and unanalyzed metering data from the metering database136, via the database interface 202. In response to receiving meteringdata, the media crediting analyzer further distributes the metering datato the metering data manager 204, wherein the media identifierrecognizer 206 can determine and indicate the media identifier as atleast one of recognized or unrecognized. Additionally, the networkactivity manager 208 can determine whether a media presentation isstreamed or cached and, in response to determining the presentation isstreamed, can further determine a streaming source of the mediapresentation. In response to each of the media identifier recognizer 206and network activity manager 208 completing respective determinations,the content determiner 210 determines content information which can, insome examples, include at least one of a media device identifier, astreaming source identifier, a program, an episode, and/or media ID, ofthe media presentation.

In response to the network activity manager 208 determining the presenceof substantial network activity, the media credit manager 218 generatesa media credit for the media presentation. Additionally oralternatively, in response to the absence of substantial networkactivity, and determining the media identifier is recognized, therecognized cached content source determiner 214 infers a streamingsource for the media presentation based on a credit result stored in themedia crediting database 140. Further, the media credit manager 218generates a media credit for the media presentation. Additionally oralternatively, in response to the absence of substantial networkactivity, and determining the media identifier is unrecognized, theunrecognized cached content source determiner 216 infers a streamingsource for the media presentation based on media device identifiers andunrecognized media identifiers (i.e., content identificationinformation) stored in the content identification information library212. Further, the media credit manager 218 generates a media credit forthe media presentation.

Although the example media crediting analyzer 138 of FIG. 2 includes onedatabase interface 202, one metering data manager 204 which can, in someexamples, include one media identifier recognizer 206, one networkactivity manager 208, and one content determiner 210, one contentidentification information library 212, one recognized cached contentsource determiner 214, one unrecognized cached content source determiner216, and one media credit manager 218, the media crediting analyzer 138as disclosed herein can be used with any number(s) of databaseinterfaces 202, metering data managers 204 which can, in some examples,be used with any number(s) of media identifier recognizers 206, networkactivity managers 208, and content determiners 210, contentidentification information libraries 212, recognized cached contentsource determiners 214, unrecognized cached content source determiners216, and media credit managers 218.

While an example manner of implementing the content crediting facility134 of FIG. 1 is illustrated in FIG. 2 , one or more of the elements,processes and/or devices illustrated in FIG. 2 may be combined, divided,re-arranged, omitted, eliminated and/or implemented in any other way.Further, the example metering database 136, the example media creditinganalyzer 138 which can, in some such examples, include the exampledatabase interface 202, the example metering data manager 204 which can,in some such examples, include the media identifier recognizer 206, thenetwork activity manager 208, and the content determiner 210, thecontent identification information library 212, the recognized cachedcontent source determiner 214, the unrecognized cached content sourcedeterminer 216, and the media credit manager 218, and/or, moregenerally, the example content crediting facility 134 of FIG. 1 may beimplemented by hardware, software, firmware and/or any combination ofhardware, software and/or firmware. Thus, for example, any of theexample metering database 136, the example media crediting analyzer 138which can, in some such examples, include the example database interface202, the example metering data manager 204 which can, in some suchexamples, include the media identifier recognizer 206, the networkactivity manager 208, and the content determiner 210, the contentidentification information library 212, the recognized cached contentsource determiner 214, the unrecognized cached content source determiner216, and the media credit manager 218, and/or, more generally, theexample content crediting facility 134 of FIG. 1 could be implemented byone or more analog or digital circuit(s), logic circuits, programmableprocessor(s), application specific integrated circuit(s) (ASIC(s)),programmable logic device(s) (PLD(s)) and/or field programmable logicdevice(s) (FPLD(s)). When reading any of the apparatus or system claimsof this patent to cover a purely software and/or firmwareimplementation, at least one of the example metering database 136, theexample media crediting analyzer 138 which can, in some such examples,include the example database interface 202, the example metering datamanager 204 which can, in some such examples, include the mediaidentifier recognizer 206, the network activity manager 208, and thecontent determiner 210, the content identification information library212, the recognized cached content source determiner 214, theunrecognized cached content source determiner 216, and the media creditmanager 218, and/or, more generally, the example content creditingfacility 134 of FIG. 1 is/are hereby expressly defined to include anon-transitory computer readable storage device or storage disk such asa memory, a digital versatile disk (DVD), a compact disk (CD), a Blu-raydisk, etc. including the software and/or firmware. Further still, theexample content crediting facility 134 of FIG. 1 may include one or moreelements, processes and/or devices in addition to, or instead of, thoseillustrated in FIG. 2 , and/or may include more than one of any or allof the illustrated elements, processes and devices.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example process 300 for identifying streamingactivity and streaming source for cached media on media devices by therecognized cached content source determiner 214 in response to a mediaidentifier of a media presentation being indicated as recognized by themedia identifier recognizer 206. An example data set 302 is taken at atime T1 for an example streaming media presentation, HoC Episode 4 on anApple TV (basement) in the illustrated example. Further, the exampledata set 302 includes a credit result 304 which can, in some examples,include at least one of a content identifier field 306, a media deviceidentifier field 308, and a streaming identifier field 310, and meterdata 312 which can, in some examples, include media identifier 314, andnetwork activity and source information 316.

Further, for data set 302 at time T1, the content identifier field 306,determined from a media identifier analyzed by the content determiner210, indicates “Content: HoC Episode 4”, the media device identifierfield 308, determined from a media identifier analyzed by the contentdeterminer 210, indicates “Device: Apple TV (Basement)”, and thestreaming identifier field 310, determined from network activityanalyzed by the network activity manager 208, indicates “Streaming:true, from Netflix”. Further, due to the streaming nature of the mediaat time T1, the network activity and source information 316, determinedby the network activity manager 208, indicates at least one ofsubstantial network activity and a streaming source at T1. In some suchexamples, the streaming source can be determined using an IP address ofthe network activity. Additionally or alternatively, the streamingsource can be determined using packet information included in thenetwork activity.

Additionally, FIG. 3 includes an example data set 318, taken at a timeT2 for an example cached media presentation which was previouslystreamed, HoC Episode 4 on an Apple TV (basement) in the illustratedexample. Data set 318 further includes a credit result 320 which can, insome examples, include at least one of a content identifier field 322, amedia device identifier field 324, and a streaming identifier field 326,and meter data 328 which can, in some examples, include media identifier330, and network activity and source information 332.

For data set 318 at time T2 (media presentation is now cached), thecontent identifier field 322, determined from a media identifieranalyzed by the content determiner 210, indicates “Content: HoC Episode4”, the media device identifier field 324, determined from a mediaidentifier analyzed by the content determiner 210, indicates “Device:Apple TV (Basement)”, and the streaming identifier field 326 indicates“Streaming: inferred true, from Netflix based on 310”. In such examples,the streaming identifier field 326 is inferred from a credit result ofpreviously streamed media (i.e., credit result 304 in the illustratedexample). Further, in the example process 300, the streaming identifierfield 326 is inferred from the streaming identifier field 310, for whichthe media presentation was identified as “Streaming: true, from Netflix”at T1. Additionally, due to the cached storage of the media at T2, thenetwork activity and source information 332 indicates no substantialnetwork activity at T2.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example process 400 for identifying streamingactivity and identifying a source of cached media on media devices bythe unrecognized cached content source determiner 216 in response to amedia identifier of a media presentation indicated as unrecognized bythe media identifier recognizer 206.

An example data set 402 is taken at a time T2 for a cached andunrecognized media presentation, HoC Episode 4 on an Apple TV (basement)in the illustrated example. The example data set 402 includes a creditresult 404 which can, in some examples, include at least one of acontent identifier field 406, a media device identifier field 408, and astreaming identifier field 410, and meter data 412 which can, in someexamples, include unrecognized media identifier 414, and networkactivity and source information 416.

Further, for data set 402 at time T2, the content identifier field 406,determined from a media identifier analyzed by the content determiner210, indicates “Content: Unknown content”, the media device identifierfield 408, determined from a media identifier analyzed by the contentdeterminer 210, indicates “Device: Apple TV (Basement)”, and thestreaming identifier field 410, determined by network activity analyzedby the network activity manager 208, indicates “Streaming: False”.Further, due to the cached storage of the media at time T2, the networkactivity and source information 416 indicates no substantial networkactivity at time T2.

FIG. 4 additionally includes an illustrated example of the contentidentification information library 212 which can, in some such examples,include one or more content identification information data set(s) 418,420, 422, and/or 424. Further, content identification information dataset 418 includes an unrecognized media identifier for a mediapresentation which was streamed from Netflix to an Apple TV located in abasement. Additionally, content identification information data set 420includes an unrecognized media identifier for a media presentation whichwas streamed from Hulu to a Roku located in a bedroom. Additionally,content identification information data set 422 includes an unrecognizedmedia identifier for a media presentation which was streamed from AmazonPrime to a Fire TV in a kitchen. Additionally, content identificationinformation data set 424 includes a recognized media identifier for amedia presentation which was streamed from Netflix to a PS4 in a livingroom.

FIG. 4 also includes an example data set 426, taken at a time T2 for acached and unrecognized media presentation that was previously streamed,HoC Episode 4 on an Apple TV (basement) in the illustrated example. Dataset 426 further includes a credit result 428 which can, in someexamples, include at least one of a content identifier field 430, amedia device identifier field 432, and a streaming identifier field 434,and meter data 436 which can, in some examples, include an unrecognizedmedia identifier 438, and network activity and source information 440.

Further, for data set 426 at time T2, the content identifier field 430,determined from a media identifier analyzed by the content determiner210, indicates “Content: Unknown content”, the media device identifierfield 432, determined from a media identifier analyzed by the contentdeterminer 210, indicates “Device: Apple TV (Basement)”, and thestreaming identifier field 434, which can be determined utilizingmethods described below, indicates “Streaming: Inferred true, fromNetflix Based on 418 stored in 212”. Further, due to the cached storageof the media at time T2, the network activity and source information 440indicates no substantial network activity at time T2.

Further detailing the streaming identifier field 434, in response to thecontent identifier field 406 indicating “Content: Unknown content”, andthe streaming identifier field 410 indicating “Streaming: False”, atleast one of the media device identifier field 408 (Apple TV (Basement)in the illustrated example) and the unrecognized media identifier 414is(are) distributed to the content identification information library212 for matching. In response to the media device identifier field 408and the unrecognized media identifier 414 matching one or more of thecontent identification information data set(s) 418, 420, 422, and/or 424as stored in the content identification information library 212, it canbe inferred that the current media presentation is cached and thestreaming source can, in some such examples, be inferred. In theillustrated example, content identification information data set 418matches the media device identifier field 408 and the unrecognized mediaidentifier 414.

In response to content identification information data set 418 matchingthe media device identifier field 408 and the unrecognized mediaidentifier 414, the streaming identifier field 434 for data set 426 attime T2 indicates “Streaming: Inferred true, from Netflix based on 418stored in 212”.

A flowchart representative of example machine readable instructions forimplementing the content crediting facility 134 is shown in FIGS. 5-7 .In this example, the machine readable instructions comprise a programfor execution by a processor such as a processor 812 shown in an exampleprocessor platform 800 discussed below in connection with FIG. 8 . Theprogram may be embodied in software stored on a non-transitory computerreadable storage medium such as a CD-ROM, a floppy disk, a hard drive, aDVD, a Blu-ray disk, or a memory associated with the processor 812, butthe entire program and/or parts thereof could alternatively be executedby a device other than the processor 812 and/or embodied in firmware ordedicated hardware. Further, although the example program is describedwith reference to the flowcharts illustrated in FIGS. 5-7 , many othermethods of implementing the example content crediting facility 134 mayalternatively be used. For example, the order of execution of the blocksmay be changed, and/or some of the blocks described may be changed,eliminated, or combined. Additionally or alternatively, any or all ofthe blocks may be implemented by one or more hardware circuits (e.g.,discrete and/or integrated analog and/or digital circuitry, a FieldProgrammable Gate Array (FPGA), an Application Specific Integratedcircuit (ASIC), a comparator, an operational-amplifier (op-amp), a logiccircuit, etc.) structured to perform the corresponding operation withoutexecuting software or firmware.

As mentioned above, the example processes of FIGS. 5-7 may beimplemented using coded instructions (e.g., computer and/or machinereadable instructions) stored on a non-transitory computer and/ormachine readable medium such as a hard disk drive, a flash memory, aread-only memory, a CD, a DVD, a cache, a random-access memory and/orany other storage device or storage disk in which information is storedfor any duration (e.g., for extended time periods, permanently, forbrief instances, for temporarily buffering, and/or for caching of theinformation). As used herein, the term non-transitory computer readablemedium is expressly defined to include any type of computer readablestorage device and/or storage disk and to exclude propagating signalsand to exclude transmission media. “Including” and “comprising” (and allforms and tenses thereof) are used herein to be open ended terms. Thus,whenever a claim lists anything following any form of “include” or“comprise” (e.g., comprises, includes, comprising, including, etc.), itis to be understood that additional elements, terms, etc. may be presentwithout falling outside the scope of the corresponding claim. As usedherein, when the phrase “at least” is used as the transition term in apreamble of a claim, it is open-ended in the same manner as the term“comprising” and “including” are open ended.

Example machine readable instructions 500 that may be executed toperform identification of streaming activity and streaming source forcached media presentations in the example system 100 of FIG. 1 areillustrated in FIG. 5 . With reference to the preceding figures andassociated descriptions, the example machine readable instructions 500of FIG. 5 begin execution at block 502 at which the media identifiermeter 128 detects a media identifier of a media presentation presentedat the media device 124. Further, at block 502, the database interface202 at least one of receives the metering data of the media presentationdetected by the media identifier meter 128 and distributes the meteringdata of the media presentation to at least one of the metering datamanager 204 and the media credit manager 218. Once all availablemetering data is received and distributed, processing transfers to block504.

At block 504, in response to all available metering data being receivedand distributed by the database interface 202, the metering data manager204 determines, from metering data received from the metering database136, at least one of a media device and presentation period for a mediapresentation. In some such examples, the media credit manager 218 isfurther to generate a media credit for at least one of a media deviceand presentation period.

At block 506, in response to completion of the determination and mediacredit generation for media device and presentation period, the networkactivity manager 208 is further to determine if substantial networkactivity, as detected by the network activity meter 130, is detected. Insome such examples, substantial network activity is indicative of astreamed media presentation. Additionally or alternatively, the absenceof substantial network activity is indicative of at least one of acached presentation of a previously streamed media presentation or amedia presentation presented that is neither streamed or cached (e.g.,presentation of a DVD, Blu-Ray, digital download, VHS, etc.)

Further at block 506, in response to the network activity manager 208determining that substantial network activity is present, processingtransfers to block 510, via block 508. Additionally or alternatively, inresponse to the absence of substantial network activity, processingtransfers to block 528.

At block 510, in response to the network activity manager 208determining that substantial network activity is present, the networkactivity manager 208 is further to, utilizing network activityinformation of metering data acquired by the network activity meter 130,determine a streaming source (e.g., Netflix®, Hulu®, Sling TV®, MLB.tv,etc.) of the media presentation. In some such examples, the networkactivity manager 208 determines a streaming source of the mediapresentation utilizing an IP address of the network activity.Additionally or alternatively, the network activity manager 208determines a streaming source of the media presentation utilizing packetinformation of the network activity. In some such examples, the mediacredit manager 218 is further to generate a media credit identifying thestreaming source.

At block 512, the media identifier recognizer 206 determines if a mediaidentifier as received by the metering data manager 204 is at least oneor recognized or unrecognized. In some such examples at block 512, themedia identifier recognizer 206 determines if an audio signature of thepresented media is recognized. Additionally or alternatively, the mediaidentifier recognizer 206 determines if an embedded watermark of thepresented media is recognized. Additionally or alternatively, the mediaidentifier recognizer 206 determines if content identificationinformation, acquired from one or more of the media 108, 110, and/or 112in any form detectable by the media identifier meter 128, is recognized.

At block 514, in response to determining a media identifier isunrecognized, the media identifier recognizer 206 further indicates themedia presentation as unrecognized.

At block 516, in response to the media identifier being indicated asunrecognized, the content identification information library 212 storesat least one of a media device identifier, a streaming sourceidentifier, and the unrecognized media identifier as contentidentification information.

At block 518, further in response to receiving content identificationinformation from the metering data manager 204 indicated asunrecognized, the media credit manager 218 generates a credit resultthat credits at least one of the media device identifier, the streamingsource identifier, and a presentation period.

At block 520, in response to determining a media identifier isrecognized, the media identifier recognizer 206 indicates the mediapresentation as recognized.

At block 522, further in response to receiving a media identifierindicated as recognized, the content determiner 210 determines a contentidentifier, which can include at least one of a program, episode, and/ormedia ID (e.g., a number, a tag, a code specific to the program and/orepisode presented, etc.) of the media presentation.

At block 524, further in response to receiving content identificationinformation from the metering data manager 204 indicated as recognized,the media credit manager 218 generates a credit result that credits atleast one of the media device identifier, the streaming sourceidentifier, a presentation period, and a content identifier.

Upon completion of at least one of block 518 or block 524, processingreturns to block 502, via block 526.

At block 528, in response to the media credit manager 218 determiningthat substantial network activity is absent (i.e., the mediapresentation is not currently being streamed), the media identifierrecognizer 206 determines whether a media identifier as received by themetering data manager 204 is at least one or recognized or unrecognized.In some such examples at block 528, the media identifier recognizer 206determines if an audio signature of the presented media is recognized.Additionally or alternatively, the media identifier recognizer 206determines if an embedded watermark of the presented media isrecognized. Additionally or alternatively, the media identifierrecognizer 206 determines if a media identifier, acquired from one ormore of the media 108, 110, and/or 112 in any form detectable by themedia identifier meter 128, is recognized.

At block 530, in response to determining a media identifier isrecognized, the media identifier recognizer 206 indicates the mediapresentation as recognized.

At block 532, further in response to receiving a media identifierindicated as recognized, the content determiner 210 determines contentidentification, which can include at least one of a program, episode,and/or media ID (e.g., a number, a tag, a code specific to the programand/or episode presented, etc.) of the media presentation.

At block 534, further in response to receiving content identificationinformation from the metering data manager 204 indicated as recognized,described in further detail below, the recognized cached content sourcedeterminer 214 infers the cached media streaming source.

At block 536, in response to determining a media identifier isunrecognized, the media identifier recognizer 206 indicates the mediapresentation as unrecognized.

At block 538, further in response to receiving content identificationinformation from the metering data manager 204 indicated asunrecognized, described in further detail below, the unrecognized cachedcontent source determiner 216 infers the cached media streaming source.

Example machine readable instructions that may be executed to infer arecognized cached media streaming source (FIG. 5 , block 534) of a mediapresentation by the media crediting analyzer 138 of FIG. 2 areillustrated in FIG. 6 . With reference to the preceding figures andassociated descriptions, the example method of FIG. 6 begins executionat block 602 at which the recognized cached content source determiner214 transmits, for a media presentation presented at the media device124, at least one of a media device identifier and a recognized mediaidentifier to the media crediting database 140.

At block 604, the example recognized cached content source determiner214 is further to, using the media crediting database 140, match themedia device identifier and a recognized media identifier of the currentmedia presentation with a credit result of previously streamed media, asstored in the media crediting database 140.

At block 606, in response to finding a match, the example recognizedcached content source determiner 214 infers that the current mediapresentation is a cached presentation of previously streamed media.

At block 608, the recognized cached content source determiner 214further infers a streaming source of the current cached presentationbased upon the credit result of previously streamed media, as stored inthe media crediting database 140.

At block 610, the media credit manager 218 generates a media creditresult including at least one of a media device identifier, a streamingsource identifier, a presentation period, and a content identifier.

At block 612, in response to the recognized cached content sourcedeterminer 214 being unable to find a match for the media deviceidentifier and a recognized media identifier of the current mediapresentation in the media crediting database 140, the recognized cachedcontent source determiner 214 infers that the current media presentationis not a cached media presentation.

At block 614, the media credit manager 218 generates a media creditresult including a presentation period, and a content identifier. Uponcompletion of at least one of block 610 or block 614, processingtransfers to block 502 of the example machine readable instructions 500of FIG. 5 .

Example machine readable instructions that may be executed to infer anunrecognized cached media streaming source (FIG. 5 , block 538) of amedia presentation by the media crediting analyzer 138 of FIG. 2 areillustrated in FIG. 7 . With reference to the preceding figures andassociated descriptions, the example method of FIG. 7 begins executionat block 702 at which the unrecognized cached content source determiner216 transmits, for a media presentation presented at the media device124, at least one of a media device identifier and an unrecognized mediaidentifier to the content identification information library 212.

At block 704, the example unrecognized cached content source determiner216 is further to, using the content identification information library212, match the media device identifier and an unrecognized mediaidentifier of the current media presentation with a media deviceidentifier and an unrecognized media identifier of previously streamedmedia, as stored in the content identification information library 212.

At block 706, in response to finding a match, the example unrecognizedcached content source determiner 216 infers that the current mediapresentation is a cached presentation of previously streamed media.

At block 708, the unrecognized cached content source determiner 216further infers a streaming source of the current cached presentationbased upon the media device identifier and an unrecognized mediaidentifier of previously streamed media, as stored in the contentidentification information library 212.

At block 710, the media credit manager 218 generates a media creditincluding at least one of a media device identifier, a streaming sourceidentifier, and a presentation period.

At block 712, in response to the unrecognized cached content sourcedeterminer 216 being unable to find a match for the media deviceidentifier and an unrecognized media identifier of the current mediapresentation in the content identification information library 212, theunrecognized cached content source determiner 216 infers that thecurrent media presentation is not a cached media presentation.

At block 714, the media credit manager 218 generates a media creditincluding a presentation period. Upon completion of at least one ofblock 710 or block 714, processing transfers to block 502 of the examplemachine readable instructions 500 of FIG. 5 .

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of an example processor platform 800 capableof executing the instructions of FIGS. 5-7 to implement the apparatus ofFIG. 2 . The processor platform 800 can be, for example, a server, apersonal computer, a mobile device (e.g., a cell phone, a smart phone, atablet such as an iPad™), a personal digital assistant (PDA), anInternet appliance, a DVD player, a CD player, a digital video recorder,a Blu-ray player, a gaming console, a personal video recorder, a set topbox, or any other type of computing device.

The processor platform 800 of the illustrated example includes aprocessor 812. The processor 812 of the illustrated example is hardware.For example, the processor 812 can be implemented by one or moreintegrated circuits, logic circuits, microprocessors or controllers fromany desired family or manufacturer. The hardware processor may be asemiconductor based (e.g., silicon based) device. In this example, theprocessor 812 implements the content crediting facility 134 whichfurther includes the media crediting analyzer 138 which can, in somesuch examples, include the database interface 202, the metering datamanager 204 which can, in some examples, include the media identifierrecognizer 206, the network activity manager 208, and the contentdeterminer 210, the recognized cached content source determiner 214, theunrecognized cached content source determiner 216, and the media creditmanager 218.

The processor 812 of the illustrated example includes a local memory 813(e.g., a cache). The processor 812 of the illustrated example is incommunication with a main memory including a volatile memory 814 and anon-volatile memory 816 via a bus 818. The volatile memory 814 may beimplemented by Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory (SDRAM), DynamicRandom Access Memory (DRAM), RAMBUS Dynamic Random Access Memory (RDRAM)and/or any other type of random access memory device. The non-volatilememory 816 may be implemented by flash memory and/or any other desiredtype of memory device. Access to the main memory 814, 816 is controlledby a memory controller.

The processor platform 800 of the illustrated example also includes aninterface circuit 820. The interface circuit 820 may be implemented byany type of interface standard, such as an Ethernet interface, auniversal serial bus (USB), and/or a PCI express interface.

In the illustrated example, one or more input devices 822 are connectedto the interface circuit 820. The input device(s) 822 permit(s) a userto enter data and/or commands into the processor 812. The inputdevice(s) can be implemented by, for example, an audio sensor, amicrophone, a camera (still or video), a keyboard, a button, a mouse, atouchscreen, a track-pad, a trackball, isopoint device and/or a voicerecognition system.

One or more output devices 824 are also connected to the interfacecircuit 820 of the illustrated example. The output devices 824 can beimplemented, for example, by display devices (e.g., a light emittingdiode (LED), an organic light emitting diode (OLED), a liquid crystaldisplay, a cathode ray tube display (CRT), a touchscreen, a tactileoutput device, a printer and/or speakers). The interface circuit 820 ofthe illustrated example, thus, typically includes a graphics drivercard, a graphics driver chip and/or a graphics driver processor.

The interface circuit 820 of the illustrated example also includes acommunication device such as a transmitter, a receiver, a transceiver, amodem and/or network interface card to facilitate exchange of data withexternal machines (e.g., computing devices of any kind) via a network826 (e.g., an Ethernet connection, a digital subscriber line (DSL), atelephone line, coaxial cable, a cellular telephone system, etc.).

The processor platform 800 of the illustrated example also includes oneor more mass storage devices 828 for storing software and/or data.Examples of such mass storage devices 828 include floppy disk drives,hard drive disks, CD drives, Blu-ray disk drives, redundant array ofindependent disks (RAID) systems, and DVD drives.

The coded instructions 832 of FIGS. 5-7 may be stored in the massstorage device 828, in the volatile memory 814, in the non-volatilememory 816, and/or on a removable tangible computer readable storagemedium such as a CD or DVD.

From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that example methods,apparatus and articles of manufacture have been disclosed that arecapable of identification of at least one of streaming activity andstreaming source for cached media on media streaming devices.

Although certain example methods, apparatus and articles of manufacturehave been disclosed herein, the scope of coverage of this patent is notlimited thereto. On the contrary, this patent covers all methods,apparatus and articles of manufacture fairly falling within the scope ofthe claims of this patent.

What is claimed is:
 1. An audience measurement computing systemcomprising: at least one processor; at least one non-transitory computerreadable medium having stored therein instructions that, when executedby the at least one processor, cause the audience measurement computingsystem to perform a set of operations comprising: accessing firststreaming media identifying information obtained from a first audiencemeasurement environment in which a first portion of streaming media ispresented during a first period, the first portion of streaming mediabeing provided for presentation via a streaming media delivery device,the first streaming media identifying information including: (i) a firstmedia identifier associated with the first portion of streaming media,(ii) a device identifier associated with a streaming media deliverydevice, and (iii) an indication that network activity in the firstaudience measurement environment during the first period is consistentwith streaming activity; accessing second streaming media identifyinginformation obtained from the first audience measurement environment inwhich a second portion of streaming media is presented during a secondperiod, the second portion of streaming media being provided forpresentation via the streaming media delivery device, the secondstreaming media identifying information including: (i) a second mediaidentifier associated with the second portion of streaming media, (ii)the device identifier associated with the streaming media deliverydevice, and (iii) an indication that network activity in the firstaudience measurement environment during the second period is notconsistent with streaming activity; comparing each of the first mediaidentifier and the second media identifier with a reference library ofmedia identifiers; and crediting, based on the comparing, a streamingmedia presentation of the second portion of streaming media via thestreaming media delivery device for the first audience measurementenvironment during the second period.
 2. The audience measurementcomputing system of claim 1, wherein the operations further includedetermining, based on the comparing, that the first media identifiercorresponds to the first portion of streaming media and the second mediaidentifier corresponds to the second portion of streaming media.
 3. Theaudience measurement computing system of claim 1, wherein the firstmedia identifier and the second media identifier are audio signatures.4. The audience measurement computing system of claim 1, wherein theoperations further include storing the first streaming media identifyinginformation.
 5. The audience measurement computing system of claim 1,wherein the operations further include inferring that the second portionof streaming media was cached on the streaming media delivery deviceprior to the second period to be provided via the streaming mediadelivery device during the second period.
 6. The audience measurementcomputing system of claim 1, wherein the indication that networkactivity in the first audience measurement environment during the secondperiod is not consistent with streaming activity includes an indicationthat network activity associated with the streaming media deliverydevice is below a bandwidth threshold.
 7. The audience measurementcomputing system of claim 1, wherein the first streaming mediaidentifying information further includes an identification of a mediastreaming source providing the first portion of streaming media to thestreaming media delivery device, and wherein crediting the streamingmedia presentation includes associating the media streaming source withthe streaming media presentation during the second period.
 8. Anon-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereininstructions that, when executed by at least one processor of acomputing system, cause the computing system to perform a set ofoperations comprising: accessing first streaming media identifyinginformation obtained from a first audience measurement environment inwhich a first portion of streaming media is presented during a firstperiod, the first portion of streaming media being provided forpresentation via a streaming media delivery device, the first streamingmedia identifying information including: (i) a first media identifierassociated with the first portion of streaming media, (ii) a deviceidentifier associated with a streaming media delivery device, and (iii)an indication that network activity in the first audience measurementenvironment during the first period is consistent with streamingactivity; accessing second streaming media identifying informationobtained from the first audience measurement environment in which asecond portion of streaming media is presented during a second period,the second portion of streaming media being provided for presentationvia the streaming media delivery device, the second streaming mediaidentifying information including: (i) a second media identifierassociated with the second portion of streaming media, (ii) the deviceidentifier associated with the streaming media delivery device, and(iii) an indication that network activity in the first audiencemeasurement environment during the second period is not consistent withstreaming activity; comparing each of the first media identifier and thesecond media identifier with a reference library of media identifiers;and crediting, based on the comparing, a streaming media presentation ofthe second portion of streaming media via the streaming media deliverydevice for the first audience measurement environment during the secondperiod.
 9. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 8,wherein the operations further include determining, based on thecomparing, that the first media identifier corresponds to the firstportion of streaming media and the second media identifier correspondsto the second portion of streaming media.
 10. The non-transitorycomputer readable medium of claim 8, wherein the first media identifierand the second media identifier are audio signatures.
 11. Thenon-transitory computer readable medium of claim 8, wherein theoperations further include storing the first streaming media identifyinginformation.
 12. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 8,wherein the operations further include inferring that the second portionof streaming media was cached on the streaming media delivery deviceprior to the second period to be provided via the streaming mediadelivery device during the second period.
 13. The non-transitorycomputer readable medium of claim 8, wherein the indication that networkactivity in the first audience measurement environment during the secondperiod is not consistent with streaming activity includes an indicationthat network activity associated with the streaming media deliverydevice is below a bandwidth threshold.
 14. The non-transitory computerreadable medium of claim 8, wherein the first streaming mediaidentifying information further includes an identification of a mediastreaming source providing the first portion of streaming media to thestreaming media delivery device, and wherein crediting the streamingmedia presentation includes associating the media streaming source withthe streaming media presentation during the second period.
 15. A methodcomprising: accessing first streaming media identifying informationobtained from a first audience measurement environment in which a firstportion of streaming media is presented during a first period, the firstportion of streaming media being provided for presentation via astreaming media delivery device, the first streaming media identifyinginformation including: (i) a first media identifier associated with thefirst portion of streaming media, (ii) a device identifier associatedwith a streaming media delivery device, and (iii) an indication thatnetwork activity in the first audience measurement environment duringthe first period is consistent with streaming activity; accessing secondstreaming media identifying information obtained from the first audiencemeasurement environment in which a second portion of streaming media ispresented during a second period, the second portion of streaming mediabeing provided for presentation via the streaming media delivery device,the second streaming media identifying information including: (i) asecond media identifier associated with the second portion of streamingmedia, (ii) the device identifier associated with the streaming mediadelivery device, and (iii) an indication that network activity in thefirst audience measurement environment during the second period is notconsistent with streaming activity; comparing each of the first mediaidentifier and the second media identifier with a reference library ofmedia identifiers; and crediting, based on the comparing, a streamingmedia presentation of the second portion of streaming media via thestreaming media delivery device for the first audience measurementenvironment during the second period.
 16. The method of claim 15,further including determining, based on the comparing, that the firstmedia identifier corresponds to the first portion of streaming media andthe second media identifier corresponds to the second portion ofstreaming media.
 17. The method of claim 15, wherein the first mediaidentifier and the second media identifier are audio signatures, themethod further including: determining that the first media identifiermatches a first reference audio signature corresponding to the firstportion of streaming media; and determining that the second mediaidentifier matches a second reference audio signature corresponding tothe second portion of streaming media.
 18. The method of claim 15,further including: inferring that the second portion of streaming mediawas cached on the streaming media delivery device prior to the secondperiod to be provided via the streaming media delivery device during thesecond period.
 19. The method of claim 15, wherein the indication thatnetwork activity in the first audience measurement environment duringthe second period is not consistent with streaming activity includes anindication that network activity associated with the streaming mediadelivery device is below a bandwidth threshold.
 20. The method of claim15, wherein the first streaming media identifying information furtherincludes an identification of a media streaming source providing thefirst portion of streaming media to the streaming media delivery device,and wherein crediting the streaming media presentation includesassociating the media streaming source with the streaming mediapresentation during the second period.